Hampton Roads
Zoning Atlas Forum
Welcome!
Zoning 101
Have you ever wondered why…
A gas station went up on that corner instead of a new park?
The mall has so much parking around it?
That new apartment building is so tall?
…it’s ZONING!
Zoning refers to a collection of local laws that
tell property owners what they can and can’t do
with their property.
This makes some sense, right?
Well…
In 20 minutes…
1. Know where zoning came from
2. Understand the nuts and bolts
3. Be ready to dive into the VZA
Zoning’s origin story stories
⚖️ Euclid v. Ambler
Ambler Realty Co. sues Village of Euclid, Ohio after new zoning ordinance significantly limits ability for industrial development on tract of land they own.
Plaintiffs assert “enforcement would constitute an unconstitutional taking” without due process.
Case goes before U.S. Supreme Court in 1926.
Zoning found CONSTITUTIONAL as reasonable part of local government’s power to promote public health, safety, and general welfare.
By mid-century, most local governments in America have a zoning ordinance.
Wait, SCOTUS said what?
. . . very often the apartment house is a mere parasite, constructed in order to take advantage of the open spaces and attractive surroundings created by the residential character of [single-family neighborhoods]
Majority opinion by Justice Sutherland in Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365 (1926)
Let’s go back…
Pre-NYC zoning activity
1885: Modesto, California
Local ordinance prohibits public laundry facilities (run primarily by Chinese immigrants) in city limits.
1908: Richmond, Virginia
New regulations created to govern height and arrangement of buildings.
- Upheld by Virginia Supreme Court.
- Literal inspiration for NYC’s 1916 ordinance.
1910 Baltimore segregation ordinance
Blacks should be quarantined in isolated slums in order to reduce the incidence of civil disturbance, to prevent the spread of communicable disease into the nearby White neighborhoods, and to protect property values among the White majority.
— Mayor J. Barry Mahool, May 1911
[First zoning ordinance explicitly referencing race.]
1911 Richmond segregation ordinance
To secure for white and colored people respectively the separate location of residences for each race.
Unlawful for a person to live on a block where more houses are occupied by persons of another race.
Town of Ashland passes same ordinance five months later.
⚖️ Virginia Supreme Court upholds ordinance in Hopkins v. City of Richmond, 117 Va. 692 (1915)
“Euclidian” zoning
Virginia Zoning Atlas
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Hampton Roads Zoning Atlas Forum | October 13, 2023